Coupon-card.



G. ALLEGR COUPON G APPLICATION FILED NOV 19 Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

GIOCOMO ALLEGRETTI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COUPON-CARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

A'pplication filed November 19, 1909. Serial No. 528,960.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, GIoooMo ALLEGRETTI, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Coupon-Cards, of whichthe following is a specification.

The coupon card of the present invention relates to that type which hasplaced thereon a plurality of coupons intended to be sold to thepurchaser for a certain price, each one of which entitles the purchaserthereof to an amount of merchandise equal to the purchase price of thecoupon, and certain of the coupons entitle the purchaser to a premium inaddition to the amount of merchandise given in return for the purchaseof the coupon, the coupons which entitle the purchaser to a premiumbeing determined by means of auxiliary coupons. By means of thesepremiums, trade is stimulated and the daily amount of sales increased.

The object of the present invention is to so position the coupons uponthe card that in tearing them ofl, the designating mark upon the couponwill not become defaced. And the invention further consists in thefeatures of construction and combination of parts hereinafter describedand claimed.

In certain prior constructions of devices of the class to which thepresent invention relates, the coupons have been attached to the card ina manner to bringthe designating marks on the coupons in contact withthe face of the card board forming the body portion of the card. This isobjectionable for the reason that the coupon is liable to become adheredto the face of the card board through dampness,'or other cause, so thatin removing the coupon, the designating mark thereon will become defacedand impossible of identification, and thus destroy the efiiciency of thecard.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a face view of the card, with the couponsin place thereon, some of them being turned back to display thedesignating mark thereon; and Fig. 2, a sectional detail showing themanner of securing the coupons in place upon the card.

A section 3 of card board, or other suitable substance, has located.thereon a plurality of coupons 4, each consisting of a tag 5 in the formof a strip of flexible material 6, folded at a point approximately atthe center thereof, and having its free end lying underneath a gummedseal 7, and the free end terminates, when the tag is folded, at a pointapproximately at the center of the seal. The tag is held in place byhaving its other end secured to the seal 7, which in turn is secured tothe upper face of the card board. The tag has impressed, at a pointadjacent the free end, designating characters consisting of a symbol inthe form of'a number and a price mark, and that portion of the tagbearing these marks is, when the tag is folded, positioned to lieagainst the secured end of the tag, whereby it is brought out ofengagement with the surface of the card and the surface ofthe seal, thespace intermediate the fixed end of the tag and the card forming ineffecta pocket to secure the free end of the tag when the same is foldedback. This method of attaching coupons to the card renders it impossiblefor the purchaser to determine the designating mark upon the couponprior to purchasing it, renders the coupon easy of removalfrom the card,and places the designating mark 8 on the coupon in a position Where itis not brought into contact with the face of the, card board, thuspreventing it from becoming attached to the surface of the card boardand becoming defaced in the removal of the coupon.

Located at a suitable position upon the card are a plurality of coupons9 similar in construction to the coupons 4, but, as shown, somewhatlarger. Each of the coupons 9 has a tag 10 secured thereto in a mannersimilar to that heretofore describedin connection with the tags 5; andeach of the tags 10 has a symbol or number thereon, which are the prizenumbers. The numbers on the tags 10 correspond to symbols or numbersupon the tags 5; and the purchaser or purchasers who obtain the coupons4, which have tags bearing a symbol corresponding to the symbols uponthe tags 10, will be entitled to a premium or prize, in addition tomerchandise secured at the time of purchase of the coupon, which isequal in value to the purchase price of the coupon. It is understoodthat each of the tags 10 bears a different number and that there are aplurality of prizes corresponding in number to the number of coupons 9.

In practice the purchaser removes one of the seals 4 and pays the amountindicated on the tag attached thereto, for which payment he receives aquantity of merchandise equal to said amount; The Storekeeper indicatesupon this space where the seal has been, the. name of that purchaser andthe number of the removed coupon. This method of operation is continueduntil all of the seals 4 have been removed from the card. When this hasbeen done, the seals 9 are torn ofl and the prize numbers upon the tags10 revealed. Then the Storekeeper, by referring to the notations on thecard, can see which of the purchasers bought the tags having the samesymbols as the tags 10 of the seals 9. These purchasers are entitled toa premium in addition to the amount of merchandise obtained for theprice paid for the original tag. The tags are not all for a like amount,but difierent purchase prices are indicated on different tags throughoutthe board, and each tag is provided with a different designating symbolor number.

The above description of vthe operation of this particular form ofcoupon card is set forth merely to show one purpose to which the tags ofthe nature claimed can be utilized, and it is understood that theparticular arrangement of this board, or the method of operation, doesnot in any way enter into the spirit of the present invention.

emma I claim: v

A device of the class described, consisting of a section of card boardand a plurality of coupons secured thereto, each coupon comprising aseal and a tag, the tag being in the form of an "elongated narrowribbon-like strip of flexible material projecting from the edge of theseal and having printed matter on its outer end, the seal being providedwith a gummed surface, to which the inner end of the tag is attached,the tag extending to a point approximately at the center of the seal,the remaining portion of the gummed surface adhering to the surface ofthe card and serving to retain the tag in position upon the card, thespace intermediate the inner end of the tag and the body of the cardforming a pocket, the outer end'of the tag being bent back and tuckedwithin said pocket, whereby that portion of the tag bearing the printedmat ter is positioned against the surface of the inner end of the tag,preventing said printed matter from engagement with the surface of thecard board, substantially as described.

GIOCOMO ALLEGRETTI. Witnesses:

J. CONNELL, WM. P. BOND.

